Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich Texted Derrick White After Game-Winner

Gregg Popovich sent a congratulatory text to former San Antonio Spurs guard Derrick White after hitting the biggest shot of his life and saving the Boston Celtics' season.

Jeremy Brener | May 30, 2023

Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich Texted Derrick White After Game-Winner /

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Even though the Boston Celtics are eliminated from the playoffs following their Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat last night, they created some drama on their way out.

A week ago, the Celtics looked like a team in disarray, one game away from being swept in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the Celtics staved off elimination three times to push the series to a seventh and final game. The most dramatic of the three wins came Saturday night when former San Antonio Spurs guard Derrick White tipped in a miss from Marcus Smart as the buzzer sounded to flip the score into Boston's favor and win the game.

White had never hit a shot bigger in his career than that night, and he received congratulatory texts from many people who were part of his basketball journey, including Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

"A lot of people that I didn't even know they had my number," White told NBC Sports. "A lot of people from a lot of different aspects of my basketball career, my high school coach, college coaches. [Gregg] Pop[ovich] texted me, so it was a little bit of everybody."

White began his career with the Spurs as the No. 29 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He played with the Spurs until 2022, when he was traded to the Celtics for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a future first-round pick (who became Blake Wesley) and a pick swap in 2028.

Even though the Celtics failed to win the series, it's a moment that White and many basketball fans won't forget for a long time.

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Published May 30, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.